Tivoli Hotels in Brazil has been bought by a Thai company meaning that the four hotels in Portugal also are now part of the Minor International Company Ltd.
The Minor Hotel Group has bought a total of six hotels from Tivoli Hotels & Resorts for €168 million as part of the Thailand-based group’s expansion into Europe and South America.
The €168 million buys two hotels in Brazil, the Tivoli Sao Paulo Mofarrej in Sao Paulo and the Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte near Salvador da Bahia.
In Portugal the Thai company has aquired the Tivoli Lisboa, the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura, the Tivoli Marina Portimão and the Tivoli Carvoeiro.
Tivoli Hotels & Resorts' 12 hotels in Portugal and two in Brazil, was put up for sale in 2014 by Rioforte Investments SA, part of the Espírito Santo Group, before a court in Luxembourg declared the company bankrupt after it failed to meet debt payments.
The Thai company announced today that it successfully had completed the purchase.
"The portfolio of Tivoli hotels in Brazil will not only generate returns and immediate gains, it will enable leverage for the Minor International Company’s group operations for expansion in Brazil, and the four hotels in Portugal will serve as our entry to a strong business in Europe," says William Heinecke, chairman of Minor International.
The Thai owners will keep the Tivoli brand name. According to Alexandre Solleiro, CEO of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts, "we are very pleased to see an investor value the Tivoli brand and its marketing and sales platforms, preserving the unity of the brand and its development in the markets where it operates."
This leaves eight hotels under Tivoli Hotels & Resorts still for sale in Portugal, all of which are operating under a Special Revitalisation Process applied for this January to keep the doors open at hotels operated by Tivoli Hotels SA and Marinotéis SA as they face cashflow problems and an uncertain future..
Minor International (MINT) was founded in 1978 and is one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia Pacific region with over 100 hotels and resorts, 1,500 restaurants and 250 retail trading outlets in Thailand and in 25 markets from Africa to Australia, to which now can be added Portugal.
